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The most detailed and accurate map of Antarctica so far. Researchers have teamed up to create a high-resolution map of the continent to track the ice's evolution as climate change continues to threaten the region. ( University of Minnesota )
A team of researchers has published the most detailed and accurate map of Antarctic terrain ever created using high resolution satellite imagery.
Called the "Antarctic Reference Elevation Model" or REMA, the map has a resolution of about 8 meters or 26 feet to show all the elevations on most of the continent.
REMA was the triumph of experts from the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University.
Antarctica in high resolution
"Until now, we had a better map of Mars than that of Antarctica," said Ian Howat, a professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University. "Now, it's the best-mapped continent on Earth."
Antarctica is the driest and most remote place on the planet. Before REMA, the most accurate topographic map of the continent was about 1 kilometer above sea level.
Now scientists know the height of each mountain and ice on the South Pole.
The new map was constructed from images taken from polar orbiting satellites. From 2009 to 2017, satellites and the team collected these images for the project.
Ohio State University has developed satellite image processing software, while researchers at the University of Minnesota have compiled the map using Blue Waters supercomputer from University of Minnesota. Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Ice melting rate monitoring
"It's only the first step, and we never thought we could handle that volume of data with such precision," Morin said. "Now we will be able to repeat this process once and a half every year so that we can see the change over time."
As REMA can provide elevation across the continent, scientists want to use the new map to monitor ice changes due to rapid warming of the climate. An earlier study published in the journal Nature Antarctica has already lost a total of 2,700 billion tons of ice from 1992 to 2017.
The research also found that the ice melting rate has accelerated to 219 gigatonnes per year over the last five years. They used satellite measurements of ice sheet mass balance to determine the rate of annual ice loss.
The South Pole has 90% of the Earth's ice. If all these ice patches melt, the sea could rise by 190 feet.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University hope scientists will also be able to use REMA to plan trips to Antarctica.
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